anybody else notice game prices lately?

[tommyboy8689]

this is prolly just gonna be a rant but its been bugging me

is it just me or is anybody else noticing the ridiculous prices people are paying these days for games...
i mean ya some of them are valueable, but i bet that some of the people buying games at the huge prices are not even gamers, and even if they are !STILL! i dunno but im starting to think that its almost not even worth it to collect anymore with the inflation of prices lately

[dedalusdedalus]

Well, that's exactly the function of price in a free market.

Price allocates finite goods to the consumers who derive the most utility from the good, as evidenced by their willingness to pay a higher price.

[Flake]

Well, that's exactly the function of price in a free market.

Price allocates finite goods to the consumers who derive the most utility from the good, as evidenced by their willingness to pay a higher price.

I second this comment. If it doesn't seem like it's worth it to you, don't do it. That's the way disposable income is meant to work.

[Anayo]

I guess it just baffles me that in a free market, some soul out there is willing to part with $20,000 for Air Raid.

[pepharytheworm]

Well, that's exactly the function of price in a free market.

Price allocates finite goods to the consumers who derive the most utility from the good, as evidenced by their willingness to pay a higher price.

I second this comment. If it doesn't seem like it's worth it to you, don't do it. That's the way disposable income is meant to work.

You say that now, but what if all videogames become financially unavailable to you? He complains and you give him reasoning, but that won't solve his complaint. You might as well say life's not fair.

Its like littering, me doing the right thing won't do anything in the grand scheme of things, but a lot of people doing it would. If I think Panzer Dragoon Saga is priced to high alot of people have to agree with me and not buy it at market price for the price to lower. With constant ebay big sales in the news it drives an influx of non rare games going up and believe it or not there are a lot of people buying them thinking they can resale them latter.

I for one also hate it. I want games to go to gamers or atleast gamer/collectors. I don't want video games to just become an investment, then they aren't video games any more but only in concept. I understand price and demand but I can still dislike the way uneducated people can grasp on to it because of what they heard and make things go up it price with no legitamate reason. Think about Beanie Babies how did those investments turn out.

[J T]

Price allocates finite goods to the consumers who derive the most utility from the good, as evidenced by their willingness to pay a higher price.

I fell asleep in the middle of that sentence and had to wake up again to finish it. I hated business school.

[bobbynewmarkiii]

on the plus side - practically all retro games can be played on roms or through hacks for very reasonable prices, and the authorities are not going to give a shit cos they're no longer in production. Every cloud...

[dedalusdedalus]

You say that now, but what if all videogames become financially unavailable to you? He complains and you give him reasoning, but that won't solve his complaint. You might as well say life's not fair.

If "all" video games became financially unavailable to me, I'd do the same thing that I did when they were financially unavailable to me during college: I'd stop playing video games and read books instead.

I'm just trying to point out that complaining about the price of games isn't going to do anything. The hypothetical example you raised, in which you get the word out that PDS is overpriced, won't ever work in reality because people are self-interested. As soon as the price starts to go down, a bunch of people are going to snap up PDS and drive the price up again. I mean, I wish that Metal Slug for the AES only cost a nickel, but I might as well wish that water weren't so wet or the sky weren't so blue.

Point taken, though: maybe my comment wasn't the most constructive, so I should add constructive advice. If video games are too expensive, there are always ways to indulge one's video game hobby cheaply, either through emulation or scooping up bargains on Craigslist/Goodwill/etc. The regulars on the "finds of the day" thread particularly enjoy the bargain-hunting aspect of video game collecting, so it's just a matter of finding the proverbial silver lining.

[Flake]

You say that now, but what if all videogames become financially unavailable to you? He complains and you give him reasoning, but that won't solve his complaint. You might as well say life's not fair.

Well, hate to break it to you but life isn't fair. If all video games were too expensive for me I would either give up the hobby or get a better source of income.

Look, you play video games that are primarily produced in a global market for global distribution to a global audience. Meaning that the market for buying games aftermarket is also global. That's where the high prices come from. Your hobby is popular so you get to have a wide variety of games coming out constantly.

The saturated audience you have to compete with for collection purposes is an obvious outcome to this situation. So if you don't think it's fair to pay a price for a game...well, tough cookies. Until everyone else thinks the same way nothing will change. WHEN everyone else thinks that way, the price will come down.

[GSZX1337]

I mean, I wish that Metal Slug for the AES only cost a nickel, but I might as well wish that water weren't so wet or the sky weren't so blue.

Well, you can freeze the water and pollute the sky.